Ross Barkley has left Chelsea by mutual consent and is now a free agent, the club have confirmed. The 28-year–old had one year remaining on his £200,000-per-week contract at Stamford Bridge but has cut that short ‘by mutual consent’ in a bid to find a move away. He played just 179 minutes in the Premier League last season and has fallen down the pecking order considerably under Thomas Tuchel.
A Chelsea club statement read: “Barkley played a part in our run to the 2020 FA Cup final, scoring against both Liverpool and Leicester. He was brought on for the closing stages of the defeat to Arsenal, as he was in the Wembley showpiece this year, converting a penalty in the shoot-out loss to Liverpool. He did get a winner’s medal in that competition in 2018. Barkley’s final game was against Watford in May, and it was his late header that secured all three points in our last game of the season. We would like to thank Ross for his contribution to Chelsea and wish him well for the rest of his career.”
Callum Hudson-Odoi has been spotted in Germany ahead of a potential move to the Bundesliga this summer. The Chelsea winger has been heavily linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge having fallen out of favour under Thomas Tuchel.
Callum Hudson-Odoi said: “I am very happy to be here. I hope we can win a trophy and go far in the Champions League.”
The motive for the Chelsea youngster’s attendance in Leverkusen has since been confirmed by Fabrizio Romano. The transfer expert claims that Hudson-Odoi has completed his medical to become a Bayer Leverkusen player and he’s now set to sign the paperwork. Romano clarifies that he’s joining the German side on a season-long loan with no option to buy clause.
Raheem Sterling says 10-man Chelsea were “excellent” in keeping “tough” opponents Leicester City at bay in Saturday’s Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge. Sterling scored his first goals for Chelsea following his £50million summer switch from Manchester City as they beat Leicester 2-1. They both came in the second half after Conor Gallagher’s 28th-minute dismissal. Thomas Tuchel’s side bounced back from last week’s 3-0 defeat at Leeds with their second win of the season and moved up to sixth in the table.
Raheem Sterling said: “It was a massive three points and one that we needed, especially off the back of last weekend. Even going down to 10 men, the boys showed a lot of passion and commitment to get the job done and it was a good win for us. It was a big team performance and everyone played their part. It’s always difficult when you go down to 10 men but it just showed how hard the boys worked for victory. The defenders were excellent in stopping Leicester and that ran right through the team, everybody worked hard for one another and you could see how much it meant to all the boys. It’s teams that win games and everyone pulled their weight today. Edou [Mendy] made some big saves and Kai [Havertz] led from the front, working his socks off to defend high up the pitch.”
Sterling gave Chelsea a 47th-minute lead with a deflected effort from the edge of the area and turned home Reece James’ cross at the far post just after the hour mark. Chelsea head coach Tuchel was serving a touchline ban following his red card in the recent 2-2 draw against Tottenham. Gallagher was dismissed on Saturday after two yellow cards in the space of six minutes, both for challenges on Leicester’s Harvey Barnes, who pulled a goal back for the visitors. Sterling was denied a hat-trick by Danny Ward late on, when the ball came back off a post after the faintest of touches from the City goalkeeper.
Raheem Sterling added: “It would have been nice to get a hat-trick but I have to say it was a great save from their goalkeeper. I think he just got his studs on the ball to turn it onto the post. It’s something I just have to take, it’s a game of small margins. It wasn’t to be but the most important thing is we got a good win in a what was a tough game against a tough opponent.”
